


3.26 Multiversal

by MsFaust



Category: Buzz Lightyear of Star Command
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Spider-Man Fusion, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Daemons, Fire Powers, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Superheroes, Tags May Change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-15
Updated: 2020-08-16
Packaged: 2020-09-01 18:55:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 5,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20262898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MsFaust/pseuds/MsFaust
Summary: A person’s life has many possible paths. Look into a few of those that Ty Parsec could have taken...Important note at the end of the prologue.





	1. Prologue: Zamira

A small fairylike creature darted through Star Command Headquarters, undetected by anyone, organic or mechanical. Her name was Zamira, and she was a Norn Sprite. Norn Sprites were quite powerful despite their minuscule size, able to harness cosmic energies for a variety of purposes. Thankfully, it was rare for them to actively interfere in the lives of mortal beings.

Like many of her kind, Zamira frequently used her powers to view alternate realities. Zamira herself was among those fascinated by how the lives of individual beings could change with a simple choice or event. And as she reached the cabins, she had a feeling that she’d find some very interesting alternate lives to look at.

She transformed herself into energy and slipped through the door to a cabin labeled ‘T. Parsec.’ Inside, she spotted a young man with messy brown hair, fast asleep with a peaceful smile on his face.

“Now what’s your story, I wonder?” she asked aloud, keeping her voice to a whisper so as not to wake him.

Gently, she placed a hand on his brow, looking into his memories—she could simply view the possible paths his life could have taken this way, but by ‘downloading’ his memories, for lack of a better word, she could look at said paths without the need for physical contact. Less worry in regards to being interrupted. Of course, he wouldn’t suffer any negative effects, nor would he have any knowledge of what she was doing.

“Ahhhhhh,” she breathed. “You certainly are an interesting one.”

Oh, there was so much to see! So many divergences!

-A world where Ty retained his wirewolf condition, and eventually learned to control it.

-A similar world, but the members of Team Lightyear had allowed him to turn them so he wouldn’t have to endure being a wirewolf alone, and eventually formed a pack.

-A world where NOS-4-A-2’s bite turned Ty into another energy vampire. Even after he was restored to normal, he retained some measure of vampiric abilities.

-A world where Buzz and Ty unearthed a dark secret, one to which they were both connected.

-A world where rather than Star Command, Ty belonged to an order of magically powered warriors.

-A world where by overcoming his fear of his dark side, Ty displayed the courage and willpower needed to become a Green Lantern.

-A world where a crash landing on an undiscovered planet introduced the galaxy to a race of creatures known as Pokemon.

-A world where a twist of fate endowed Ty with the ability to generate flames, and even turn into living fire.

-A similar world, but Buzz, Mira, and Booster were also given powers. Interestingly enough, said powers were reminiscent of another superhuman quartet.

-A world where rather than NOS-4-A-2, Ty instead encountered one of a race of symbiotic entities known as Klyntar, which bonded with him.

-A world where Ty aided Team Lightyear, and a few new allies, in foiling an evil entity’s plot, wielding the power of one’s inner self.

And many, many others...

“Which one to look at first?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You are welcome to use any of the AUs featured here, provided you list this work as an inspiration. In addition, I would greatly appreciate if in your comments, you provided suggestions for other AUs and/or told me which ones you’d like me to elaborate on.
> 
> Special thanks to TyParsec and Fad-Artwork of Deviantart (the latter goes by Summerspeck here on AO3), whose pics inspired four of the AUs mentioned in the prologue. For reference:  
-https://www.deviantart.com/typarsec  
-https://www.deviantart.com/fad-artwork


	2. The Wolf You Feed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is inspired by Enlightenment (https://www.deviantart.com/fox-the-wandering/art/Enlightenment-539086149) and to a lesser degree, Running Wild (https://archiveofourown.org/works/16481315).

While the moon of Canis Lunis had been destroyed, the wirewolf ‘infection,’ as they were calling it, hadn’t gone away. Only a few months after the incident, Ty had been on a mission when things had gotten way out of hand. In the midst of the chaos, he’d found himself turning into his wirewolf form again. Thankfully, he didn’t harm any of those teammates, but upon returning to Star Command headquarters, he was immediately sent for a checkup. According to the LGMs, the transformation was no longer triggered by moonlight—from Canis Lunis or otherwise—but by sufficient stress or related emotions. Out of concern for both Ty and the rest of Star Command, Nebula placed him on leave until he figured out a way to either get rid of the infection or control it.

In all honesty, Ty was glad for the suspension.

When he arrived home, he was only mildly surprised to find that Steve Mooncloud was visiting as well. He and Steve had grown up in the same neighborhood, which had a rather large Tribal population (Ty wouldn’t be surprised if he himself had Tribal ancestry somewhere in his family tree). Much to his relief, Steve was sympathetic to his plight. In fact, he told Ty a story that would prove to be an invaluable lesson.

“Once, there was a boy who had suffered immense cruelty at the hands of a bully, who beat him, called him horrible names, and embarrassed him in front of the other children. The boy didn’t want to suffer any more, so he went to his grandfather and asked what he should do.

‘Inside you,’ his grandfather said. ‘There are two wolves. One is a white wolf, which embodies all that is good in you, and seeks a better world. The other is a black wolf, which embodies wickedness and violence, and wishes to destroy all in his way. Every day, these two wolves fight.’

‘Which one will win?’ the boy asked.

‘The one you feed,’ his grandfather said.”

“And what did the boy do?”

“When the bully confronted him again,” said Steve. “The boy stood firm. He did not strike back, but he did not cry or show fear. In the end, the bully left him alone, for he could not break the boy. And as the boy did not allow himself to be controlled by fear or by anger, the white wolf won that day.”

(3.26)

That night, Ty’s dreams found him in the midst of a forest. As he wandered, he noticed that some of the trees were partly mechanical, as were the small animals scampering about.

_I wonder if..._it’s _here._

Shuddering, he hugged himself as he continued his walk. Just as he passed a tree with claw marks slashed into it, he heard the howling of wolves. At first he was scared, thinking the wirewolf was near, but then he realized he could hear more than one, and he remembered Steve’s tale. Running towards the sound, he saw two wolves—one with black fur and one with white. Much to his horror, the white wolf was badly injured, its struggles desperate.

A loud crack, caused by Ty stepping on a twig, caused the wolves to look up. Neither approached or made a sound, but Ty could tell what they wanted.

_How many times has Buzz saved you?_ the black wolf urged. _That man’s made you a laughingstock, and because of him, you’re cursed._

_Don’t let your anger control you_, the white wolf pleaded. _If you do, the monster wins. Put aside your resentment._

Ty and the wolves stared at each other for what felt like an eternity. But then he remembered the story again.

“_One is a white wolf, which embodies all that is good in you. The other is a black wolf, which embodies wickedness and violence, and wishes to destroy all in his way._”

“_Which one will win?_”

“_The one you feed._”

“It’s only a curse if I let it be one,” Ty realized, his eyes starting to glow with white light. The change was happening again, but this time, he didn’t fight it. As the transformation completed, he dropped to all fours, opening his eyes. The white wolf, now fully healed, stood beside him with an expectant look, while the black one was backing away in fear.

“Leave,” Ty growled.

Whimpering, the black wolf turned and fled. Once it was gone, Ty looked at the white wolf and nodded.

“Follow me.”

He turned and dashed off, the white wolf joining him in his run.

(3.26)

Not too long after, Ty had returned to active duty, after proving that he had his condition under control. But it was not until he was he helping Team Lightyear with a rescue mission that he could really show how under control it was.

“There’s too many of them, Buzz!” shouted Booster, barely managing to keep the Hornets from overwhelming him.

“He’s right,” Mira agreed. “Any ideas?”

“One.” Buzz looked over at XR. “XR, think you can get the hostages free on your own?”

“I think so,” replied the robot ranger.

“Code Full Moon?” Ty asked, using the code phrase Commander Nebula had come up with for situations requiring the Wirewolf.

“Run wild,” Buzz affirmed with a nod.

Glowing lights surrounded Ty as he closed his eyes. The transformation no longer caused him pain as it once had, feeling more fluid and natural. Opening his eyes, which now glowed white rather than red, he let out a howl as he charged. Claws and teeth tore the Hornets apart, parts flying in every direction. Taking advantage of the chaos, Buzz and the rest got the hostages to safety.

“Man, those Hornets never stood a chance!” Booster said in awe.

“But how...?” Mira asked.

“It’s simple,” Ty answered. “The wolf that wins is the wolf you feed.”


	3. Two Bodies, One Soul

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you not familiar with the concept of daemons:  
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dæmon_(His_Dark_Materials)

_Pain_.

_Pain unlike anything he’s ever known. Not even turning into the wirewolf was this bad. It feels like some vital organ he didn’t know he had was being torn in half, and part of it was being pulled out of him. Buzz and his team are screaming too, undoubtedly feeling the same agony. Eventually, it becomes too much, and he mercifully blacks out._

_When he awakens, there is a silvery-grey and green-furred wolf looking down at him._

_He knows, instinctively, that she is his._

“Ty?”

Jolted out of his flashback, Ty looked at the wolf lying at the foot of his bed.

“Sorry, Diana,” he said. “I was just...remembering.”

Diana let out a sigh as she positioned herself closer to her owner. Ty moved over slightly to let her under the blanket.

“How much longer do you think we’re going to be here?” she asked.

“We’ll be heading to Capital Planet in a few days,” Ty said. “Lucky for us, they don’t need us to testify at Derai’s trial.”

A little over a week ago, Warp had been sighted approaching a previously undiscovered planet. Ty had been asked to accompany Team Lightyear to investigate, with Commander Nebula agreeing to reduce his probation time (required in order to be reinstated into Star Command) in exchange. When they arrived, they discovered that the natives possessed what they called daemons, beings that were effectively extensions of one’s soul in animal form. In their efforts to find Warp, they sought aid from the Theo-Congress, the planet’s primary religious organization which also had a partial governing role. One of its archdeacons, a man named Derai, had considered the Rangers’ lack of daemons to be “blasphemy of the highest order,” and had sought to “save their souls.”

Using an ancient device, he had forcibly ripped out a fragment of each one’s soul and turned those fragments into daemons: an eagle for Buzz, a Len-yee (a dog-ape hybrid creature) for Booster, a Yomarin (an animal resembling a dolphin with ribbon-like things on its head) for Mira, a cat for XR, and a wolf for Ty. Luckily, it didn’t take long for the five of them to adapt to their new companions, and reveal Derai‘s actions. During that time, Warp had tried to steal the device so that Zurg could study it, but accidentally activated it and received a daemon of his own—some sort of black bird resembling a crow or raven with four eyes and a forked tail. Unfortunately, he escaped before he could be arrested.

“I’m sorry about what happened,” Diana murmured quietly.

“Don’t be. You didn’t ask to be made. Neither did Lois, Tami, Kal, or Pandora.”

“Or whatever Warp’s calling his daemon,” added Buzz, entering with Lois on his shoulder.

“What do you think he was doing here, anyway?” wondered Ty.

“I have no idea,” Buzz admitted. “By the way, thanks for the save back there.”

“Hey, I couldn’t just leave you trapped under that pew. The whole building was collapsing.”

Buzz smiled. “So how many more times do you have to save me before we’re even?”

All four of them—human and daemon alike—laughed.


	4. Burn Baby Burn (1/4)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based on these pics by TyParsec:  
-https://www.deviantart.com/typarsec/art/Superhero-Ty-19713980  
-https://www.deviantart.com/typarsec/art/On-Fire-Sketch-21135739  
-https://www.deviantart.com/typarsec/art/On-Fire-Finished-21209814

Swooping out of the path of an enormous hand, Ty—or Supernova, as he was called while in costume—looked over at his fellow Vindicators who were taking on the Caravan. Nightwolf, Alleycat, Freefall, Asylum, Majin, and Tiny Dancer were all down for the count, leaving only Atlas, Freakshow, Strix, and Mr. Roboto (Blade and Spriggan were both currently incarcerated).  
  
“Anyone mind taking care of Atlas?”  
  
“I’m on it!” hollered Touchdown, a tall dark-skinned man in cinnabar red with a T-shape emblazoned in bright green on his upper chest. Sprinting forward, the powerhouse grabbed hold of Atlas’s leg, lifting the villainous giant over his head and throwing him in the direction of Renaissance.  
  
“Whoa, watch where you’re throwing!” Renaissance shouted, barely avoiding a collision.  
  
“My bad!”  
  
Shaking her head, Renaissance fired an ionic blast at Atlas. It struck him dead on, knocking him out cold.  
  
“You metal bitch!” shrieked Strix, soaring toward Renaissance with talons unsheathed.  
  
“Language!” chided the blue- and white-suited Glacier as she froze the owl-woman. The resulting block of ice fell into Touchdown’s waiting arms.  
  
“Did Glacier just say ‘language?’”  
  
“I’m not a little kid any more,” huffed Wild Child, the team’s resident speedster.  
  
“Then maybe you should change your name,” remarked Freakshow, who had just been tied to a telephone pole by his arms.  
  
“Nobody asked you!” Wild Child snapped.  
  
“Anyway, I just took Mr. Roboto offline,” Renaissance interjected. “Seems we’re finished here.”  
  
“Meet you back at Feige Hall!”  
  
As the woman in the purple and gold armor landed and walked over to greet the arriving police officers, Supernova took one last glance back at her, then turned and flew off.


	5. Burn Baby Burn (2/4)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Takes place prior to Part 1.

It was supposed to be a simple transport mission—the LGMs had received permission to study some kind of recently discovered metal that turned liquid at room temperature like mercury, but wasn’t toxic and far better at storing heat—but unsurprisingly, it ended up being anything but simple. A guy called Samson Fornax, known for stealing valuable substances and selling them on the black market, had snuck onto the ship during a brief stop, waited until Ty’s guard was down, and attempted to hijack the ship. This resulted in the ship crashing, Fornax and Ty being injured, and the container for the metal leaking, some of the liquid dripping into their wounds. When Ty awoke, he found that not only had Fornax escaped, but the ship and his suit were badly damaged. Knowing he wouldn’t be able to contact Star Command, he decided his best shot was to seek assistance from the locals, and fortunately, there was a city not too far away.  
  
“Doesn’t look too different from Capital Planet,” Ty said to himself as he wandered through the city streets. “Might not be as advanced, but...”  
  
“Hurry up, you idiot!”  
  
Ty spun around, catching sight of four men carrying black bags, dressed in what looked like black wrestling attire with different colored fist emblems on the chest—one red, one blue, one purple, and one yellow—and matching bandana masks. A fifth man, this one with a green fist emblem and mask and with unusually  
large hands, ran up to them.  
  
“Let’s go, Bash!” barked the red one. “We gotta go before the cops show up, or worse, one of the heroes!”  
  
“Ex-cuse me, Dash!” the green one snapped back. “I don’t have your speed, you know!”  
  
“Couldn’t you just make your feet bigger?” asked the purple one, his tone giving the impression that he wasn’t the brightest of the bunch.  
  
“That doesn’t make him faster, dumbass,” growled the blue one.  
  
“Crash, Smash, enough!” The yellow one stretched out his arms, smacking them both. “Or do you want us to get arrested?”  
  
“Lash’s right,” Dash said. “Time to...huh?”  
  
Despite the lack of a functioning ranger uniform, Ty wasn’t going to let what was clearly a gang of criminals escape. Hopefully, his training would be enough.  
  
“You three handle this punk while Bash and I take the loot and go,” said Dash. “Meet you back at the hideout.”  
  
He picked up Bash, who had grabbed the bags his companions had dropped and raced off, moving too fast to be seen. The others surrounded Ty, Lash widening his body to form something like a net.  
  
_Oh crap._  
  
As the three slowly approached, Ty clenched his hands into fists—there was no way he was going down without a fight—only to feel an intense warmth emanating from them. He looked down, and to his shock, he saw they were engulfed in flames. Yet there was no pain, prompting him to realize that he was generating it.  
  
“Shit!” cursed Lash. “He’s a meta!”  
  
While Ty didn’t understand what the word ‘meta’ meant, he was certain that for him, it was a good thing. Raising one hand, he released a jet of fire, knocking Crash back.  
  
“Don’t just stand there, get him!” shouted Lash.  
  
Smash charged forward, but Ty simply grinned, his new power giving him confidence. He conjured a sphere of fire, tossing it at Crash and knocking him back down, before turning to engage Smash, the flame around his hands giving his punches a boost.  
  
“Oh for cryin’ out loud,” Lash groaned. “If you want anything done right, you gotta—AAGH!”  
  
Before he could make a move, his body was suddenly frozen from the base of his neck down.  
  
“The Vindicators!” shouted Crash, scrambling to his feet. “Come on, Smash, let’s bolt!”  
  
“You’re not going anywhere,” declared Glacier as she, Renaissance, and a blonde man in a green and blue suit with a blue cape descended, the former on an ice slide and the other two hovering in the air. Much to Crash, Smash, and Lash’s dismay, the man held a securely bound Dash and Bash. Smash grabbed Crash and tried to escape, only for them to be hit by a jet of flame from Ty and an ionic blast from Renaissance.  
  
“Not too shabby,” the man remarked. “Sure, the Maniacs are small fry villains, but for someone who just got powers...”  
  
“Who are you callin’ small fry?” snapped Smash.  
  
Glacier shook her head before freezing him in a block of ice, putting an ice gag on him for good measure. “That guy talks too much.”  
  
“As for you,” Renaissance said, turning to Ty. “Mind coming with us? We have a few questions we’d like to ask...”


	6. Latent Effects

WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!

The sound of Ty striking the punching bag echoed throughout the room. Every night for the past week, he’d been venting his frustrations. And he wasn’t the only one—Buzz had destroyed one or two bags himself. Not surprising after what had happened.

“I’d ask how you’re doing, but that’d be kind of a dumb question.”

“And hello to you too, Buzz,” Ty responded, not looking away. “Couldn’t sleep either, huh?”

“No, but can you blame me?”

Ty shook his head. He knew exactly how Buzz felt, and it seemed only natural that even Star Command’s golden boy would be shaken. Much to the surprise of Ty, the commander, and his teammates, he actually seemed to be taking it better than expected—especially surprising, considering what they’d discovered not too long ago...

_While awaiting word on whether or not he’d be reinstated as a space ranger following the wirewolf incident, Ty had swung back and forth between feeling great and incredibly sick. A quick scan courtesy of the LGMs revealed that the infection was leaving his system, but it also indicated that there was some other change occurring. Even though it was determined to not be a negative change, Ty was understandably still worried. However, it was not until NOS-4-A2 attacked with the intent of forcibly recruiting him that the exact effects became clear—when the chunk of moon rock failed to affect Ty, NOS-4-A2 attacked him while Team Lightyear fought XL. To his shock, Ty found himself displaying highly enhanced strength, speed, and agility, enabling him to not only fight NOS-4-A2 on even ground, but slay him with a large shard of scrap metal left after Buzz destroyed the robot vampire’s laser._

_Further examination by the LGMs showed evidence that Ty’s DNA had been tampered with while he was still developing, causing him and Buzz to recall how the latter seemed to start displaying similar enhancements during his final year at the academy. While the teachers knew that Buzz would_ never _juice, they had him take a test just to make sure there was no room for doubt (said tests came back negative, as expected). As for Ty, it was theorized that his time as a wirewolf had been the trigger. Thankfully, Buzz was able to teach him methods of control, so he didn’t accidentally break anything or cause any similar problems. Nebula, meanwhile, went through several files related to his own time as a ranger, and eventually found information on Project Red Titan—an illegal super soldier project he’d help shut down._

”_While my fellow rangers and I arrested the project staff and brought them in, each of the subjects, to use the clinical term, was tested for viability. Some wouldn’t have been able to survive outside the gestation tubes, and...well...” He’d given them a look that made it clear what had happened. “As for the viable ones, they were quietly placed with foster families. Wasn’t involved with that part, so there’s not much else I can tell you, but I do have my suspicions.”_

_Sure enough, further research confirmed that Buzz and Ty were both among the surviving subjects. Buzz had known he was adopted since he was a kid, but Ty ended up calling his parents and had a very loud and very heated argument with them. No one was surprised that he was upset, and no one blamed him for being angry. However, Buzz felt Ty was lucky, given what he’d read about one of the scientists who’d worked on the project..._

“Buzz?”

“Oh, sorry Ty,” Buzz apologized, snapping out of his thoughts. “Got lost in thought for a moment.”

Ty shrugged as he unhooked the heavily damaged punching bag. “You wanna spar for a bit? Might help.”

“I agree.” Buzz struck a fighting stance. “Show me what you’ve got.”


	7. What’s Up Danger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Because August is the month Amazing Fantasy #15 came out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I probably should have posted this earlier, but oh well.

“Nothing on sensors, Ranger Parsec.”

“Nothing ever is,” Ty groaned. “What do you say we go find nothing in sector four?”

“Sector four looks clear—oh, your communicator’s beeping.”

Flipping open his communicator, Ty glared at the lab tech who had contacted him. “This had better be good.”

“We’re having a problem with one of the collectors.”

“On my way,” Ty sighed.

As it turned out, the collector had something stuck inside the generator, which caused an automatic shutdown. Opening the maintenance hatch, Ty quickly spotted the problem—bits of cobweb stuck on a few of the gears. It was easily cleared off, but as soon as the hatch was closed, Sentry One made a noise of alarm.

“Sweet mother of Venus, that thing’s huge!”

Looking at where the sentry was pointing, Ty caught a glimpse of a red, green, and black spider crawling onto his uncovered hand.

“It’s just a spider,” he said, giving the sentry an annoyed glance. “Don’t be such a baby—ow! Stupid thing bit me!” Flicking the spider off, he looked at the bite mark. “Doesn’t look too bad.”

“What if it’s poisonous?” Sentry Two asked worriedly.

“There’s no poisonous species on Canis Lunis, remember?”

As Ty departed, however, he started to feel a little dizzy. Thankfully, he wasn’t far from his room.

“Maybe I should go lie down for a bit.”

(3.26)

In addition to the dizziness, Ty also found himself experiencing a cold sweat and increased light sensitivity as he lay in bed. Much to his relief, those symptoms were all gone by the time he woke up. As a matter of fact, he felt better than he ever had in his life.

“Seems all I needed was a good long rest,” he said to himself.

Looking down at the bite mark, he noticed it had already started healing. However, he also noticed something else—a small slit in his wrist just below his palm. A glance at his other wrist revealed there was one there too.

“What the heck is this?” he wondered aloud.

KNOCK KNOCK

“Ranger Parsec, sir? We have a problem.”

“Is anything on fire?” Ty asked as he opened the door to see Sentry Two. “‘Cause otherwise...”

“You remember NOS-4-A2, that energy vampire Zurg created? He attacked Sentry One earlier and drained him dry. Star Command sent Buzz and his team over while you were out.”

Upon hearing the name of Star Command’s most famous ranger, Ty’s grip on the doorknob tightened. “Oh great, yet another addition to the list of—“

A sound between a screech and a crunch cut him off. Looking down, Ty saw the doorknob was partly crushed. Sentry Two hurriedly backed away.

“I’m just gonna go now.”

With that, the robot departed, leaving Ty staring down at the doorknob in confusion.

(3.26)

To say that Ty’s day was not going as hoped was a massive understatement. Not only did he have to put up with Buzz and his team, but even though NOS-4-A2 had been driven off, there was still something attacking the robots. As if that wasn’t enough, when he wasn’t accidentally breaking things, they were getting stuck to him, even with his ranger suit on.

“Get off!” he snapped in annoyance, shaking his hand. While examining the remains of another fallen robot sentry, a loose bolt had attached itself to his palm, and refused to come off. Much to his relief, Team Lightyear was busy, having elected to set a trap for the robots’ killer.

“At least Buzz hasn’t had to rescue me AGAIN.”

Just as the bolt finally fell off, Ty froze as he felt a peculiar pulsing sensation in his head. At the same time, he could hear a clicking sound getting louder and closer. His instincts screamed at him to jump, and jump he did—at least ten feet into the air and straight onto the wall, his hands and feet adhering the moment they made contact. Down below, a monstrous spider the size of a wolfhound briefly came into view, crawling down the hallway and vanishing around a corner. Ty’s eyes widened in shock, for despite the increase in size, it was unmistakably the same spider that had bitten him, right down to the coloring.

All at once, everything clicked.

“The bite did this!” He pulled one hand off the wall and gazed at it in growing wonder. “All that lunar energy must have mutated that spider, and when it bit me...”

“Holy craters, that thing’s huge!”

Booster’s terrified shriek jolted Ty from his thoughts. Relaxing his grip, he dropped to the floor, landing on his feet.

_Even if that monster didn’t attack the sentries, it’s still a threat_, he thought. _I have to do something._

(3.26)

“This is not good,” Buzz growled. “Not only did the lunar energy increase its size, it’s now durable enough to withstand laser fire. And with XR out of commission...”

“XR wouldn’t be much help anyway,” chimed in Mira. “He would have been—ugh!”

One end of a thick strand of webbing latched onto her leg, yanked her off her feet, and threw her to the ground a good ten feet or so away. Buzz experienced the same thing, though he slammed into a wall before hitting the ground, just as Ty appeared in the nearby doorway.

“Ty...” Buzz groaned. “You think you can...help us out?”

Fighting the urge to show his delight at being asked for help by Star Command’s golden boy, Ty nodded. “Actually, I think I can. Look for a weak spot while I keep this thing busy.”

“Did you catch that, Mira?” Buzz hollered to the Tangean as he went to free Booster, who’d been webbed to a wall.

“Yeah, but I don’t see how Ty—“

“Remember how I mentioned that thing bit me while it was still small?”

Before anyone could answer, the spider turned its attention to the brunette ranger. It charged forward, but Ty skillfully dove backwards, landing in a crouch on the wall. The spider couldn’t stop in time, and collided with the wall, just below where Ty was perched. Mira, briefly stunned by the display, shook herself to regain her focus.

“Get it to show its stomach!” she called. “There might be something there!”

Jumping down, Ty wrestled with the spider for a bit before lifting it into the air, exposing a large green blotch on its belly. “NOW!”

Buzz aimed his laser at the spot, striking dead on and blowing the monster arachnid to bits. Mira briefly groaned at the spider guts splattered everywhere, while Booster just looked awestruck.

“Wow, Ty, how’d you do all that?”

(3.26)

Once they had returned to Star Command HQ and Buzz had made his report, Commander Nebula had the LGMs do a full scan of Ty to make sure there was no risk of further mutation. To everyone’s relief, it appeared that his DNA had stabilized. However, the LGMs also reported the change was permanent, and attempts to reverse it could be dangerous, though Ty found he didn’t really mind.

_Wow, what a view._

Crouched high upon the wall of one of the taller buildings in Capital Planet’s second-largest city, Ty looked out over the brightly lit nighttime streets. Heights weren’t ever a problem for him, but now he found it hard to stay close to the ground, spending as much time on walls or ceilings as he could. Still, it didn’t quite seem to be enough, which—combined with the sole change that he had yet to try out—brought him here.

Grinning as he felt a gust of wind brush against his face, he took a deep breath before pitching himself forward, releasing his grip as he did so. Tempted as he was to close his eyes and enjoy the sensation of free fall, he knew he needed them open to pull off what he was about to do. He waited until he was almost halfway to the ground before holding out a hand, palm facing upward. As he did, a strand of white emerged from his wrist, one end latching onto the roof of another building as he grabbed the other. Swinging forward, he landed on the side of said building, where he paused to catch his breath. Even as the rush cooled down, he couldn’t help but laugh.

_I could get used to this._


End file.
